Egyptians search for loved ones after a train hit a school bus near Assiut.

Photo: Mamdouh Thabet, Associated Press

Egyptians search for loved ones after a train hit a school bus near...

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RETRANSMISSION FOR ALTERNATIVE CROP -- Egyptians gather at the scene of a train crash that killed at least 47 people, most of them children near Assiut in southern Egypt, Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012. The bus was carrying more than 50 children between 4 and 6 years old when it was hit near al-Mandara village in Manfaloot district in the province of Assiut, a security official said, adding that it appears that the railroad crossing was not closed as the train sped toward it. (AP Photo/Mamdouh Thabet)

Photo: Mamdouh Thabet, Associated Press

RETRANSMISSION FOR ALTERNATIVE CROP -- Egyptians gather at the...

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Egyptians gather at the site of a train crash that killed at least 49 people, most of them children between 4 and 6 years old near Assiut in southern Egypt, Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012. Egyptian security officials say grieving families in the central province of Assiut have cut off roads and denied the prime minister access to the scene of a train accident that killed at least 49 kindergartners. (AP Photo)

Photo: Uncredited, Associated Press

Egyptians gather at the site of a train crash that killed at least...

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Children wounded when a train collided with a school bus recuperate at Assuit University Hospital in Assuit, Egypt, Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012. A speeding train crashed into a bus carrying Egyptian children to their kindergarten in central Egypt on Saturday, killing dozens and prompting a wave of anger against the government in Cairo. (AP Photo/Ahmed Gomaa)

Photo: Ahmed Gomaa, Associated Press

Children wounded when a train collided with a school bus recuperate...

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RETRANSMISSION FOR ALTERNATE CROP -- An Egyptian looks through books and school bags that were strewn along the tracks at the scene where a speeding train crashed into a bus carrying children to their kindergarten, killing at least 47, officials said, near Assiut in southern Egypt, Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012. The bus was carrying more than 50 children between 4 and 6 years old when it was hit by a train near al-Mandara village in Manfaloot district in the province of Assiut, a security official said, adding that it appears that the railroad crossing was not closed as the train sped toward it. (AP Photo/Mamdouh Thabet)

Photo: Mamdouh Thabet, Associated Press

RETRANSMISSION FOR ALTERNATE CROP -- An Egyptian looks through...

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Egyptians block the tracks with debris from the crash and railroad ties at the scene of a train crash that killed at least 49 people, most of them children between 4 and 6 years old near Assiut in southern Egypt, Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012. Egyptian security officials say grieving families in the central province of Assiut have cut off roads and denied the prime minister access to the scene of a train accident that killed at least 49 kindergartners. (AP Photo)

A speeding train crashed into a bus carrying Egyptian children to their school in central Egypt on Saturday, killing at least 51 and driving a wave of anger against the government in Cairo.

The crash, which killed children from 4 to 6 years old and three adults, led to local protests and accusations from outraged Egyptians that President Mohammed Morsi is failing to deliver on the demands of last year's uprising to improve life for ordinary Egyptians.

The accident left behind a mangled shell of a bus twisted underneath the train outside the city of Assiut, 200 miles south of Cairo. A witness said the train pushed the bus along the tracks for about half a mile.

Residents near the site say the railway crossing guard was asleep Saturday when the bus drove over the track. It appeared the crossing was not closed as the train sped toward it. Authorities detained a railway worker who had fled the scene.

Um Ibrahim, whose three children were on the bus, pulled her hair in grief. "My children! I didn't feed you before you left," she cried.

More than a dozen injured children were being treated in hospitals.

After the accident, Morsi appeared on state television, promising an investigation and financial compensation for victims' families. His transport minister and the head of Egypt's railways resigned.

The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's most powerful political force and Morsi's base of support, blamed the crash on a culture of negligence fostered by deposed leader Hosni Mubarak.